How RF Shielding Works in Modular SCIFs
Modular SCIFs can be fabricated to include the RF shielding clients need to protect against bad actors trying to take advantage of passive emanations.
As clients in need of a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) might be aware, protecting classified materials from unintended emanations is a growing concern. However, there are modular SCIF options available that can provide high levels of RF shielding to ensure that clients get the emanation protection they need for their facilities. While the level of required RF shielding varies from one project to the next, Universal Modular is able to adapt all clients’ emanation security needs into the fabrication of traditional roll-on modular buildings.
What is RF shielding?
Radio frequency (RF) is a measurement of the electromagnetic waves that an electronic device, such as a phone or a computer, emanates each second. Every electronic device gives off some RF, which can be a concern for facilities like SCIFs that house sensitive materials. In addition to the spaces that are used to store or handle classified materials, industries like tech and healthcare also benefit from RF protections in certain settings—such as in test labs or MRI rooms—and often take steps to shield against passive emanations.
When it comes to SCIFs, those emanations left unprotected are vulnerable to bad actors, who can use the electromagnetic signals to gain access to the data inside or to plant unwanted digital contaminations from the outside. Luckily, it is possible to build layers of emanation security directly into modular SCIFs. This process, known as RF shielding, varies depending on each project’s TEMPEST requirements. At this time, traditional roll-on modular SCIFs can achieve RF shielding levels up to 80 decibels (dB). Overall, there is very little difference between RF shielding in modular SCIFs and conventional construction projects in regard to materials and methodology.
What are TEMPEST requirements?
TEMPEST is the term used in reference to the investigation, research, and control of potentially compromising emanations that come from electronic devices. TEMPEST requirements, which can include the different levels of RF shielding, are a significant focus when it comes to building secure facilities. The primary purpose of having TEMPEST mitigations in place is to reduce the unintended emanations coming out of a SCIF so that bad actors are unable to use them to breach security.
A SCIF project’s Certified TEMPEST Technical Authority (CTTA) will provide them with the TEMPEST Countermeasures Requirements (TCR) needed for their traditional roll-on modular SCIF. The TCR must be obtained as early as possible because the SCIF design cannot be completed until those requirements are identified. The level of RF shielding needed for a SCIF affects the approach to its design and fabrication, as well as its total cost. It is therefore impractical to make major changes to a design after fabrication has begun.
How is RF shielding incorporated in modular SCIFs?
There is little difference between the RF shielding built into traditional roll-on modular SCIFs and the TEMPEST mitigations for ground-up construction projects. The materials used are the same, as are the installation methods. The only real difference is that some modular SCIF components, sometimes referred to as “holdbacks,” are added once the entire project is onsite, instead of in a factory setting.
Materials
The TCR provided by the CTTA will help determine a modular SCIF’s build methodology. Aluminum foil sheeting, or R Foil, might be used in the walls to meet one RF shielding level, while another might necessitate the use of galvanized sheet metal. More stringent TEMPEST mitigations can also call for power filtering or data filtering, and they can affect the kind of specialty RF-shielded doors that are needed.
In addition to the RF shielding materials used in the walls, floors, and ceilings of modular SCIFs, honeycomb waveguides can be added to protect the HVAC vent ducts from passive emanations. For high-level RF shielding environments, all perimeter penetrations should be treated with some sort of waveguide.
Specialized R foil is installed in the factory as an RF shielding measure.
Holdbacks
Eighty percent or more of the RF shielding needed for a traditional roll-on modular SCIF can be finished in a factory setting. The use of this assembly line process adds an element of quality consistency that is difficult to replicate with ground-up construction projects, which have to contend with whichever build factors exist on location. However, there are some components of modular SCIFs that are put together onsite. As the majority of the build is completed in the factory, the layers of a project’s walls and floor are held back in successive levels. These holdbacks are mated only after they are transported and brought onsite. The high-precision doors used in modular SCIFs are also typically installed onsite to avoid the potential for damage as they are being transported.
Impacts on fabrication timeline
It is essential for a client to obtain their project’s TCR as early in the process as possible. Once the TEMPEST mitigation requirements have been identified, adding emanation security to a project has very little impact on the time it takes to build it. Though the design and accreditation phases for a traditional roll-on modular SCIF take time, most of the materials needed are readily available and can be ordered early in the process as the design details are being finalized. Out of all the RF shielding components that might be needed, power filters and specialty doors typically take the longest to obtain. However, both of these components can be installed onsite after the modular SCIF has been delivered to its final destination.
What costs are associated with RF shielding?
The level of RF shielding a project requires has a direct impact on its cost. This is another reason that nailing down the TCR early on is so important. For traditional roll-on modular SCIFs, RF shielding can add 15 to 30 percent to the project’s total cost.
If you’re looking to get a secure facility with RF shielding quickly, Universal Modular can help you program the right traditional roll-on modular SCIF for you. Reach out for a free quote today.